In the end, we decided to make a donation to the crowdfunding page that was being administered by two groups whose names we recognized and forego contributing to the other crowdfunding page, which was set up anonymously to allegedly support the person who had been accused of making racist comments.

This situation really emphasized for us the importance of the Defence Fund. Instead of anti-racists hoping that they have tech-savvy friends that can set up crowdfunding pages for them, the Defence Fund has money ready-to-go when people need it the most – to make bail, to pay for legal defence, to pay medical bills, etc. Unlike anonymous crowdfunding pages where donors can’t verify the page has an actual connection to the people it’s purporting to raise money for, the Defence Fund has a year-long, verifiable record of helping dozens of anti-fascists and anti-racists around the world and is endorsed by three well-known anti-fascist networks. Finally, the Defence Fund’s standing decisions committee of 44 anti-fascists and anti-racists have the flexibility to discuss and decide on matters that make requests more complex (like the alleged racism of one of the potential recipients, as in this case).

On Saturday, April 23rd, what was supposed to be one of the largest KKK rallies in history turned out to be a total washout, as only two dozen bigots showed up to Stone Mountain, GA. More might have made it had it not been for the hundreds of anti-fascists and anti-racists from all over the U.S. that did everything in their power to prevent and shut down the Klan “rally.”

Of course, the most formidable opponent on the field that day turned out to the be hundreds of police there to act as personal bodyguards to the 24 KKKowards. Not content with just protecting their racist buddies from harm, the police did what they could to arrest antifa in the area, charging several with the crime of wearing masks and one with a felony for throwing a smoke bomb.